The Silver Locket
by Spack
Summary: SORRY THAT IT'S TAKEN ME SO LONG TO UPDATE! Takes place in the fifth year. Voldemort has possessed a student at Hogwarts, and is trying to destory Harry, but first tries to destroy all of Harry's friends.
1. The Beginning

Hermione sighed as she walked the corridors of Hogwarts Castle. This was her fifth year, well, beginning of it anyway, and yet she still hadn't told Harry how she felt. "Oh Harry.don't you know I love you?" She thought to herself. She sighed again, and gathered up her robes and set off towards her transfiguration class.  
  
Hermione plopped down into her usual seat next to Harry. She wished she could take his hand, tell him how she felt, and have him feel the same way. "That's stupid, Hermione," she thought. "He'll never love you back! Look at him, he's the famous Harry Potter, and he only loves girls like Cho Chang, not normal girls like you." She looked at Harry as he excitedly talked to his other best friend Ron about the upcoming Quidditch match.  
  
"And the rumor is, Hufflepuff is bad this year, since, well, you know, they lost Cedric. But we're for sure going to win this year, we're going to get the cup!" Hermione smiled. He was so beautiful.his deep green eyes, his always messy black hair, the way his glasses slid down his nose every two minutes. He turned to look at her. "Hermione? Are you okay?"  
  
Hermione snapped out of her trance. "Oh, yeah Harry, I'm fine. Right then, shall we look over our notes for the test?" It was the beginning of the year and already they had a test! That was just like their Transfiguration teacher, Professor McGonagall.  
  
"Hermione, we all know that there's no reason for you to look over any notes. You've got the whole Transfiguration book memorized!" said Ron. He grinned at her over Harry's head. "Have you told him yet?" he mouthed to her.  
  
Ron was the only one that knew how Hermione really felt about Harry. She had told him in their third year, when she couldn't bear to keep it a secret anymore. Lately, Ron had been at her to tell Harry how she felt, but Hermione was to chicken to say anything. She gave him a look that plainly said "Right then, shut your mouth!" Ron didn't say anything after that.  
  
"Quills and parchment out!" The strict voice of their Transfiguration teacher cut through the chatter of the classroom. "Notes and books away!" she snapped as she passed out the tests. "After you finish the written portion, you will come into my office and complete the rest of the test. You may begin.now!" The students flipped open their test books and started in on their test.  
  
Hermione, as usual, was the first one done. She stepped outside the classroom to wait for Harry and Ron. She hadn't been out there for more than ten minutes when Harry stepped out. "Hello!" he said brightly.  
  
"Hi, Harry!" Hermione could feel the warmth spread to her cheeks. She loved Harry so much.even before she knew him. She, of course, had read all about him when she first got word she was a witch. She knew everything about him. Who would have though that they would have become best friends? "D'you think the test was easy?"  
  
"Well, the last bit was a bit rough, but I think I did okay. No need asking what you though, eh?" Harry smiled as he teased her. His deep green eyes twinkled when he looked at her. "You probably came out with top marks!"  
  
"Oh Harry, you know you must have done well!" Hermione smiled at him. She was rather glad she'd gotten her teeth reduced.they were awfully large before she'd gotten them reduced last year.  
  
"Hermione? Um.I have something I want to talk to you about," Harry suddenly sounded uncertain, almost scared. So unlike his usual confident self. "What is it, Harry?" Hermione tried her best to sound innocent and carefree.  
  
"I.well, I.er." Harry searched for words. "I-"  
  
"Hello mates! Shall we go get lunch?" Ron burst onto the scene. He stopped when he saw the look on Harry's face. "Oh, sorry. Interrupting something, am I?" He looked quickly to Hermione, then back to Harry.  
  
"No, Ron, we're just about to walk down to the Great Hall for lunch. Come along, then," said Hermione. She smiled brightly at her two best friends, then picked up her bag and set off down the hallway.  
  
Ou know, 'Er-mi-oh-knee, 'ou really oughta tell 'im!" Ron was spraying bits of Yorkshire Pudding all over the table as he spoke. The three were sitting at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall, and Harry had gone off to ask Hagrid something.  
  
"Eck, Ron, chew with your mouth closed!" Hermione scolded him. She was trying to avoid the subject of Harry. He had come close to saying something to her this morning, but it seemed as though he was scared. Harry was never scared of anything. "And anyway, I don't see why I should tell him anyway. I like things the way that they are too much right now to mess things up by telling him," she said confidently. There, that ought to end that discussion.  
  
Ron incoherently mumbled something under his breath. "What's that?" she asked him.  
  
"Nothing! Gosh-" then back to his mumbling. Hermione left it at that.  
  
"So, Hermione, you're coming to the Quidditch match tomorrow, right?" asked Harry. He was coming back, with a slight redness to his cheeks. Hermione caught Hagrid's eye and he winked. "Curious." she wondered to herself.  
  
"Yeah, Harry, I'm going. Wouldn't miss it for the world," Hermione said brightly. She never missed a Quidditch match, she loved watching Harry out there in his robes. He looked so handsome.well, he always looked handsome. No wonder she was in love with him, he was simply wonderful. Hermione smiled to herself as she thought about him.  
  
"Are you okay?" Harry asked. "That's the second time today you've looked like that!" He smiled at her. Hermione could have melted, his smile was so charming. She looked at him, and smiled.  
  
"I'm fine, don't worry," she said. She looked over at Ron, and he raised an eyebrow.  
  
"Well chaps, I'm off! I've got to go do a bit of studying!" Ron said brightly.  
  
"What for? We don't have any other tests today," Harry said, with a hint of confusion in his voice.  
  
"Who ever said I was studying books?" Ron said slyly, then winked at the both of them and ran off out the doors of the Great Hall. Harry and Hermione smiled at each other.  
  
"Well, we've nothing to do for about two more hours. Fancy a walk around the lake?" Harry asked. Hermione's heart lifted when he heard her. She was going to be alone, with Harry! She didn't want anything else.  
  
"Sure, lets go then!"  
  
Hermione sighed. She was having a wonderful day. She was laying on her back, with Harry next to her. The squid in the lake swam about lazily, and they laid there, half asleep, enjoying the warm sunshine. She couldn't have been in a better mood. "Hermione?" Harry suddenly sat up and looked at Hermione. "Come here, please." Hermione was confused. Harry had a hint of sadness in his voice.  
  
"What is it, Harry?" Hermione scooted closer to him.  
  
"What I was trying to tell you this morning.well, forget about that. It's not really important anyway. But, there is something that I really should tell you. Professor Dumbledore told me this morning.well Voldemort is regaining power, you know that. Well, Dumbledore told me this morning that he has reason to believe that Voldemort is here," Harry said all this very fast, like he was trying to hold it back but he just couldn't.  
  
Hermione was shocked. "No! Here, at Hogwarts?"  
  
Harry nodded solemnly. "Here. At Hogwarts."  
  
  
  
THE END! (for now!) 


	2. The Necklace

Hermione was worried. Three days before, Harry had told her something that made her blood run cold.  
  
"Dumbledore has reason to believe that he's here," were the exact words that had come out of his mouth. Voldemort, here! Hogwarts, the safest place on Earth. Hermione just simply couldn't believe it.  
  
"Well, you've told Ron, haven't you?" She'd asked him that day. Harry had shaken his head no.  
  
"You're the only one I've told so far. I'm not telling very many people, just you and Ron. But I wanted you to be the first one to know."  
  
This had secretly pleased Hermione. He told her something first, confided in her before he told anybody else. In her secret little dream world, this meant that he loved her back. "Ha, if he only did!" she had thought to herself.  
  
Now, here they were, three weeks later. Harry and Hermione were in the Gryffindor common room, and the rest of the Gryffindor students were slowly going up the stairs to the dorm rooms. Soon, Harry and Hermione were the only two people in there. They moved to a couch by the fire, because it was starting to get colder. Hermione was feeling rather bold that evening, so she laid her head in Harry's lap as the two talked.  
  
"But anyway, I'm not really that scared. I mean, Dumbledore's here, and he's the only wizard that Voldemort's ever been afraid of. Dumbledore is keeping me under careful watch, he told me the other day. I don't think that anything'll happen, but if it does, I'm ready for it." Harry had been saying. Hermione was so comfortable there in his lap.she felt as though she could stay like that for forever. Just the two of them, together like this always. "Hermione?" Harry asked with concern. "Are you alright? You've got that funny look on your face again."  
  
Hermione snapped out of her trance. "Oh yes, Harry I'm fine!" Hermione blushed. She had been thinking about Harry again. She smiled at him. "Just thinking about things."she trailed off. "Thinking about you, of course!" she thought to herself. He smiled back.  
  
"Hermione? I've got something I want to tell you. I, well I..Hermione, I love you." Harry blushed furiously as he said this. Hermione was shocked. She didn't know what to think.her dreams had just come true! Harry Potter had said that he loved her. He really said it!  
  
"Oh Harry, you don't mean it, do you?" Hermione couldn't keep the smile off her face.  
  
"Of course I mean it, stupid. Why else would I say something like that?" Harry looked embarrassed, and he couldn't look Hermione straight in the eye. Smart, confident, brave, Harry Potter was scared of the reaction that he was going to get.  
  
"Oh Harry!" Hermione threw her arms around Harry's neck and kissed his cheek. "I love you too!" She said. She could barely hold in her excitement.  
  
"You.you mean it?" Harry asked. His brilliant green eyes lit up, and his pink cheeks grew even darker.  
  
"Of course I mean it, stupid. Why else would I say something like that?" she smiled down at him. Harry laughed, then hugged Hermione.  
  
"You don't know how long I've been waiting to tell you that, it's been killing me! I never thought you would feel the same! That's why I hesitated so long. Ron's been at me for ages, trying to get me to tell you."  
  
"The same with me! He's known since our third year, and he's been after me to tell you for a while now! I never thought that you would feel the same way. Famous Harry Potter, I never thought that you would love some brainy geek like me," Hermione said. She was so happy, she couldn't contain her excitement. "He loves me!" she thought to herself.  
  
"Your not anywhere near a geek, Hermione. I think you're beautiful," Harry smiled at her. "The most beautiful girl I've ever seen," he said softly. He leaned in to kiss her, but they were interrupted by somebody laughing.  
  
"It's about time you two told each other!! It was getting annoying, with all those secret looks and wishful sighs you've been having!!" Ron had snuck down the stairs and had been watching the whole process.  
  
"Ron, you git!" Hermione smiled at him. If it wasn't for him, they still wouldn't have known anything about Harry. She silently thanked him, and made a mental note to thank him in person later on.  
  
The three friends sat talking, Harry and Hermione sitting closer to each other than usual. They were interrupted again at around one in the morning, by the portrait hole being opened hastily.  
  
McGonagall and Dumbledore came flying in. McGonagall's hair was flying about her head, and Dumbledore's eyes had lost their usual twinkle. Both of them looked frantic. "Harry!" McGonagall cried when she saw him.  
  
"Harry, listen to me. These are very dangerous times, and we are not going to be able to protect you all the way. Word from the Ministry confirms that Voldemort is here, at Hogwarts, along with several of his followers, all of who have possessed a student. None are here in your house, we've made sure of that. The process of seeing whom is possessed and whom isn't is very difficult and very, very, time consuming, so it'll be past Christmas break before we even get done searching one other house. Searching all three will take past the end of the year, so we are going to try our best to keep you out of danger." Dumbledore sounded very grim as he spoke to Harry. His eyes regained their twinkle, but it was dimmer than it had always been before.  
  
"Harry, there's one thing you must know. There has to be someone at this school that you care deeply about, am I correct? A girl, somebody that you love with all your heart," McGonagall said. Her voice sounded panicky.  
  
Harry turned at glanced at Hermione before responding. "Yes, there is somebody."  
  
McGonagall looked worried. "Don't you dare let her out of your sight. You-Know-Who is trying to hurt you in the worst possible way before he tries to take you on head to head. He'll hunt down your best friends and hurt them, so the three of you had best stay together. Don't let them out of your sight Harry, you must listen. If you do, they're bound to be in grave danger!" She said. Her eyes darted from Hermione to Ron to Harry.  
  
"Please take care Harry! The three of you better stay together tonight. Hermione, I want you to sleep in Harry's and Ron's dormitory tonight, until we can find out suitable arrangements," McGonagall looked embarrassed at the idea of Hermione staying in a boy's room, but that fact wasn't important. Dumbledore strode over to were Harry was standing, and handed him a silver heart locket on a silver chain.  
  
"Give this to the one you love. It 's been enchanted, so any spell aimed at her heart will bounce back. But it doesn't keep her entirely safe, you must know," he said. He sighed, and for a moment, he looked old and frail. Then he straightened himself back up, and said "Come along then, Professor McGonagall. We've work to do." With that they left the common room.  
  
"Well, lets get to bed, shall we?" Ron's voice broke the silence. Hermione realized with a start how tired she was.  
  
"Yes, lets." She took Harry's hand and walked with the two boys upstairs to their room.  
  
"Here, Hermione, you can have my bed, I'll stay on the floor," Harry said when they got up to his room. He looked at her, his green eyes sparkling once more. Hermione could have melted. She glanced over at Ron, who was already fast asleep, his flaming red hair constrasting strangely with the darkness of the room.  
  
"I love you, Harry." It felt so good for her to finally say those words to him. She smiled, and leaned up to kiss him on the cheek. "Goodnight."  
  
"Goodnight, Hermione. I love you, too." Harry said. He turned to get blankets from the closet to put on the floor when he turned back around. "Take this locket. Hopefully it'll keep you safe, for the time being." Hermione sat up and let him clasp the locket around her neck. The feeling of his hands on her neck sent chills down her spine. She turned to face him, to look into his eyes. She gently took his chin in her hands, and leaned and kissed him. He smelled so good, like oranges, like soap, like outside, like many wonderful things. She wrapped her arms around his neck when their kiss finally broke, and smiled into his shoulder. She was the luckiest girl alive, to be loved by such a person as Harry Potter.  
  
She smiled as she settled into Harry's bed. The pillow smelled like Harry, oranges, soap, the outside, gingerbread.everything that was wonderful. She pulled the covers up to her chin and snuggled in. She caught a glimpse of Ron's red hair, and could hear Neville Longbottom's snores through the darkness. "Everything is wonderful."  
  
She thought.  
  
But things can change, and they can change rather quickly.  
  
THE END! (until next time) 


	3. The Dream

Rest your eyes, there's nothing to fear  
  
1 The dangers gone  
  
1.1 Who couldn't say you're wonderful  
  
Who couldn't love you  
  
Hermione was walking somewhere, but she couldn't quite place where, exactly. She was in a forest, she knew that much. The path she was on seemed so familiar, like she knew where she was going. She walked along, shivering slightly. The singsong melody echoed in her head, and she could hear somebody singing the words softly as she walked. She heard a noise in the depths of the forest, and stopped walking. She turned around and looked behind her, trying to identify where the sound had come from. Suddenly, there was a deep voice, a crack, a bright flash, and she screamed. Hermione was spinning, faster and faster, until everything came to a stop. She was falling through darkness, wind rushing past her ears. She heard her own scream, felt the cold of the wind whip against her skin. She was falling, forever falling, into endless blackness, then was suddenly awoken.  
  
"Hermione! Hermione! HERMIONE!" Harry was shaking her shoulders, and she opened her eyes to see him staring at her with a worried look on his face. He saw that she was awake and he pulled her into a hug. He squeezed her so tightly, like he could never let her go. "Oh, Thank the Sages, you're awake! I was so scared!" He  
  
kissed her neck as he spoke, the feel of his lips on her skin sent shivers down her back. His shoulders shook, and she pulled away to look at him, surprised to see a tear running down his cheek.  
  
"What's wrong, Harry? What happened?" She asked. She couldn't stand to see him crying. It made her want to reach out and comfort him, to make everything bad go away. That was impossible, she knew, but she still felt like trying. She reached out and wiped tears away from his red cheeks. He took her hand and held it, as if she was slipping away in to eternity and he was trying his hardest to keep her there with him.  
  
"Don't you know, Hermione? You mean you didn't know?" she heard Ron say. He was squatting on the floor next to the bed, looking at Hermione with concern. "You went all rigid and shaky, like you were getting ill. You started screaming out something, but we couldn't understand what." Hermione looked past Ron to see the rest of his roommates staring at her. All of them looked scared.  
  
"Oh Harry! This dream I had, I was in a forest, and somebody was singing, and somebody said a spell and there was a flash and I was spinning, and falling and oh Harry I was so scared!" Hermione suddenly felt like she was going to throw up. She put her head on her hands and she realized that she had broken into a sweat. "What was I screaming? Didn't anybody hear?" she asked the boys.  
  
"I did, Hermione," Harry said softly. He looked into her eyes. "I did. You said 'He's trying to kill me, he's trying to kill Harry, he's trying to kill Ron.' Then you went silent and after a minute or two you said, 'Expandimentiem.' That was when I woke you up. We were so scared, Hermione." The look in Harry's eyes told her that he was worried about her. He searched her face with his bright green eyes, and pulled her into a hug once more. The way his shoulders shook, the way his breathing came shallow, he really cared about her, and it showed in every move he made.  
  
"Expandimentiem?" Hermione had heard that somewhere. She was almost sure what it meant, but didn't want to say anything in case she was wrong. "Maybe I should go down to the hospital wing." she said shakily. She tried to get out of the bed, but when she lifted herself up into a standing position, she fell into Harry's arms.  
  
"Okay, maybe not. Go back to sleep, all of you, I mean it!" she said to the rest of the guys staring at her. They shrugged and flopped back down onto their pillows, and were soon back asleep. "Harry.stay with me." She said weakly.  
  
"What do you mean? I'm right here." He said.  
  
"I know, but stay with me until I go back to sleep. I'm scared, Harry," she whispered. He sat down on the bed next to her, stroking her hair. He bent down to kiss her, pressing his lips to hers softly, then more aggressively, more passionately.  
  
"It's alright, I'm here. I'm always here Hermione," he whispered against her lips. "I love you, and I am always here."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
Thaddeus Pearson was scared. Something was inside his head, but he didn't know what. "Please, leave me alone!" He begged. He didn't really understand what good it would do, since he didn't know what he was begging to.  
  
"SILENCE! You will obey me, do you understand?" The voice inside his head was cold, and Thaddeus was scared again.  
  
"What do you want with me? What am I supposed to do?" he asked it.  
  
"You are going to be my slave. You are going to do my dirty work. You are going to kill Harry Potter."  
  
Thaddeus gasped outloud. Harry Potter? But, he was the one that saved everybody from the Dark Times. He was the one that made You-Know-Who disappear. Why would anybody want to kill him? Unless, it was.but no, it couldn't be!  
  
A high, cold, laugh sounded somewhere inside Thaddeus's head. "Oh yes, my dear boy. It's me, Voldemort." Thaddeus shivered at the name. "I'm back, to seek my revenge on the boy that caused my downfall." He laughed again, loud and shrill. "And you are going to help my, my boy. Whether you like it or not."  
  
"N-n-no! I wo-wo-won't do anything t-t-to hurt Harry P-p-potter!" stuttered Thaddeus outloud. "You c-c-can't make me!" He said. He hoped that his voice hid the way he really felt. Scared and alone.  
  
Voldemort laughed again. "Do you want to bet on that?" Suddenly, Thaddeus was screaming out in pain. It felt as though somebody had set fire to every single one of his bones and every single inch of his skin. "Do you see, little boy? Do you see what I can put you through? Now, you will do exactly what I say, do you understand me?"  
  
"Y-y-yes, Lord Voldemort."  
  
"Good. Very good. I see I was right in choosing you to be my slave. Now, what we need to do first, is to start out on Harry's little.friends." Hate echoed in every word that Voldemort spoke. "That girl.that Hermione. He likes her, I can feel it. We go after her first. Then we get the boy with the red hair, then we go after all his other little 'friends'. That teacher, Hagrid.His Quidditch teammates, everybody. Then, and only then, will we take him. When he is lost and alone in the world, without friends, cold and powerless, then is when I shall have my revenge."  
  
~~~~~~~~~~  
  
2 Rest your eyes, there's nothing to fear  
  
The dangers gone  
  
Who couldn't say you're wonderful  
  
Who couldn't love you  
  
The singsong melody haunted her. She was back in the forest. She wished she knew where she was! She heard the sound again. She turned around, almost involuntarily, and tried once again to see where the sound had come from. She heard the voice, the crack, and saw the light once again. Only, this time, she reached down and grabbed a rock from off the trail she was on. She felt the spinning sensation once again, felt the wind and the cold, and woke up in a cold sweat. She felt something cut into her palm, and felt the trickle of blood creeping down towards the floor. She rolled her hand over and opened her tightly clenched fist.  
  
A small rock fell to the floor.  
  
THE END! (till next time, of course) 


	4. The First Attack

GO, HARRY, GO!" Hermione was outside on a cold October day, along with the rest of the school. There was a Quidditch match, Gryffindor versus Slytherin, and Hermione wanted nothing more than for Harry to show that little nit wit Malfoy. Lately he'd been showing out more than usual.  
  
"And rumor has it, that Potter and that little filthy Muggle Hermione are an item! Can you believe it? Of course, Father would die if he found out I was dating a nasty little mudblood like her!" Malfoy drawled this out during Potions one day. Hermione could tell that he was really getting on Harry's nerves, as every time he mentioned Hermione's name, Harry would clench his fists and his cheeks would flush red.  
  
"Harry, don't worry about him. Please, don't let it bother you!" Hermione had said as he gripped the edge of the desk. She leaned over and wrapped her arms around his waist and squeezed gently. He turned to look at her. His expression softened when he looked into her cinnamon eyes.  
  
"Hermione, they just make me so mad when they talk about you like that! Why doesn't it bother you? Why doesn't it make you angry?" Hermione grinned.  
  
"Because I don't care what people think about me, Harry. I've learned just to listen to what my friends have to say, and not my enemies." She leaned up and kissed his nose and smiled again. "Don't worry about it, Harry, please. Take care of Malfoy at the Quidditch match next week."  
  
"Oh, how absolutely delightful. Potter and Granger, together at last." Harry and Hermione looked up and saw greasy haired Snape standing over them, with a rather nasty grin on his slimy face. "5 points from Gryffindor, and 5 more for your little indecent display of affection!" Hermione gulped and withdrew her arms from around Harry's waist. "Books away, get out your ingredients for The Silverstreamed Potion."  
  
Hermione, Harry, and Ron quietly talked as they got out the things they needed. "Harry, d'you think we'll ever find out what Expandimentiem means?" ask Ron. The three of them had been researching in the library under Harry's invisibility cloak late at night. They had poured over every book they could find, but no mention of Expandimentiem was in any of them. They considered asking a Professor for help, but they were scared of the reaction they might get.  
  
"Don't make me take away more points, the three of you. You've been nothing but trouble since you've came to this school. I am tired of putting up with your little schemes." Snape had snuck up behind them and Hermione had the nasty feeling that he had heard their whole conversation. A quick look from Ron and Harry told her that they felt the same way. "I'm watching the three of you," Snape whispered so that only the three of them could hear. When he backed away, Ron glanced behind him and muttered something that made Hermione reach over and hit him in the arm.  
  
"Now, class, the Silverstreamed Potion is very out of date, but the Ministry requires it to be taught to every fifth year student here at Hogwarts. What it does is go into the bloodstream, making the blood flow quicker for more energy. They used to use it to go into battle, but they stopped when the Dark Lord vanished," Snape cleared his throat and glanced at Harry before continuing. "It also makes the blood thicker, making it able to clot easier, so wounds stop bleeding quicker. I don't see why any of you should use it anytime soon," another glance at Harry, "but it can come in handy from time to time."  
  
As the three of them crushed up beetle eyes and skinned bobdoubostufflers, they quitely conversed. "Ron, d'you think that Snape knows? I mean, he wouldn't have kept looking at me like that all the time, would he?" Harry was worried about the whole situation.  
  
"Harry, don't worry. Dumbledore probably told all the teachers, just to make sure that you'd be safe. And us too, me and Hermione." Ron glanced at Hermione. She could tell by the look in his eyes that he was scared to. Not just for himself, but for Harry as well. The look she gave him told him that she was scared too.  
  
"Ron, we all are," she mouthed to him.  
  
"Yeah. Yeah, I know."  
  
Later on that day, Malfoy had taken the chance to insult Hermione again during Care of Magical Creatures. But this time, it was Hagrid that took care of him. "You listen 'ere, Malfoy," he had growled. "Jus' 'cause yer jealous that Harry's got Hermione an' you don', don' mean you got ta be such a prat 'bout the whole mess." This caused Malfoy to flush bright red, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione burst into convulsions of laughter. Hermione caught Hagrid's eye, and he winked at her once more.  
  
"Thanks," she said to him after class. Harry and Ron were laughing over some private joke, so Hermione took the opportunity to talk to Hagrid.  
  
"Been wonderin' when you would realize ya love each other," he said to her. Hermione beamed. "O'course, I saw it when yer first came 'ere," he smiled down at her.  
  
"Hagrid, it's wonderful being in love!" Hermione had been floating on air since that night he had finally told her. She was always happy, and nothing upset her much anymore. "It's just absolutely wonderful! Oh, speaking of, how are you and Madame Maxmie?" She asked. She hadn't seen Hagrid's fiancée since last year.  
  
"Oh, we're doin' fine. Don' worry none 'bout me, though, Hermione. Dumbledore tol' me whas' goin' on," he said. His voice suddenly lost it's hint of cheerfulness. "You bes' be careful, Hermione. I'd hate ta see any of ya hurt."  
  
  
  
Thaddeus was still scared. The voice in his head wouldn't go away, and he didn't know what to do about it. He was scared that if he told somebody, they'd send him to St. Mungos, the wizard hospital. He didn't want to go there, that was for sure. But he didn't understand why. Why would the Dark Lord choose him? He wasn't a dark wizard. He should have chosen somebody in Slytherin, he heard that they all had gone bad in the end. Voldemort seemed to sense his insecureness.  
  
"Ah, my dear boy, you wonder why I chose you? Well, we shall see why when the time is right. Now, you just focus on doing your duties," he said. Thaddeus hated this voice inside his head, all he wanted was for it to leave him alone and let him get on with his life. He had begged and pleaded, but Voldemort just laughed. When Thaddeus resisted, he felt horrible pain, so he felt it would just be best that he did what Voldemort told him to.  
  
It was the Thursday before Halloween. There was a Quidditch match in which Harry Potter would be playing. That is where Thaddeus would make his first mark.  
  
It was late on Wednesday night when Thaddeus snuck into the Quidditch store room. He searched until he found the box that held the four balls used in the game. He took out his wand and muttered a spell aimed towards a bludger. "That'll take care of that Beater friend of his, Fred Weasley. And the other, that'll take care of the other one, George," said the voice inside his head.  
  
Thaddeus heard the laugh as he was making his way back to the castle. "Very good, Thaddeus. Now maybe I won't have to punish you for all the mistakes you have made. Hopefully our little bludgers will do harm to Harry's little friends.and then Harry shall see what happens when Lord Voldemort gets angry." The laugh sounded again. Thaddeus shuddered, the laugh always sent chills down his spine. It sounded like thousands and thousands of fingernails being slowly dragged down a chalkboard. "So you don't share my sense of humor, Thaddeus? Well, you soon shall." And Voldemort laughed again.  
  
  
  
The whole school had their eyes on Harry and Malfoy as they watched the Quidditch match. Hermione had to admit to herself, she was scared for Harry. So many things could happen to him while he was up there in the sky, without her there to protect him. She was sitting next to Ron, and every time a bludger would come towards Harry, she would dig her nails into his arm.  
  
"Ouch, Hermione, stop it will you?" Ron was absorbed in the game. Hermione noticed that he was watching somebody's every move, and it wasn't Harry. She followed his gaze to Meredith Tennal, a transfer student that shared a room with Hermione. She was nice, sure, but they didn't know each other very well, but she made a mental note to herself to get to know her better.  
  
"You like her, don't you Ron?" She asked him. He glanced at her, his ears turning bright red. She smiled. "Don't let her out of your sight. If Voldemort's going to hurt us, then he'll hurt her too. Keep her safe, Ron, because-" Hermione was interrupted by a scream. She looked up to see Katie Bell and Angelina Johnson pointing at something falling through the sky. Hermione's mind immediately raced to Harry, but no, she saw that he was safely on his broom. But she soon realized who it was that was falling.  
  
Fred and George Weasley.  
  
"NO! WHAT HAPPENED? NO.FRED AND GEORGE..MOVE OUTTA MY WAY I GOTTA GET DOWN THERE!" Ron bellowed. His eyes were wide as saucers as he watched his twin brothers fall to the  
  
As Hermione and Ron made their way down onto the field, Hermione ran into a boy about a year younger than her. "Oh, excuse me," she said hurriedly. The boy looked up at her, with fear in his eyes.  
  
"Get him out," he said, with a very weak voice, then tears welled up in his eyes as his facial expression changed into one of immense pain. He ran off, leaving Hermione there alone, to wonder what he meant.  
  
"Curious." she thought to herself.  
  
  
  
"And Ron's completely crushed. Fred and George are going to be okay, I know that much for sure, and Ginny's handling it rather well, but Ron is just devastated." Harry's cheeks were flushed red as the two sat on the couch by the fire in the common room. "He's upstairs in the dorm," he said to her.  
  
"Harry, I'm just glad it's not you," she said softly, before cupping his face in her hands. "I would die if anything happened to you, Harry."  
  
"Well.Hermione." Harry seemed if he was on the verge of telling her something that he wasn't supposed to. It made Hermione slightly upset, but everything she was thinking fled her mind when Harry pulled her into his lap and kissed her.  
  
"Harry, I love you, and I want to be with you forever," she thought to herself. "But how long will forever be?"  
  
  
  
THE END! (for now, at least) 


	5. The Incantation

Hermione was exhausted. She was sitting in Professor Binns' class, listening to him drone on and on and on about something that didn't even matter. She lazily glanced at Ron and Harry, both of whom were drawing pictures of Malfoy falling off his broom and trying hard to contain their laughter. She turned her gaze to Harry, watching the way he wrinkled his eyebrows as he tried to get Malfoy's facial expression right. His hair waved slightly as he moved his head. Everything about him was so beautiful.no wonder she was in love with him. Her trance was distracted when she felt something hit her back. She turned around in her seat to see Lavender Brown and Parvati Patil glaring at her. She didn't understand.they used to always be so nice. She saw Meredith hit the both of them, then smile at Hermione. She smiled back. Lately, her and Meredith had been becoming better friends.  
  
"So, Meredith, back to what we were talking about last night," Hermione said when class was over. Ron and Harry were walking ahead of them, and Ron's ears turned red when he saw who Hermione was talking to. She smiled slightly, then turned back to Meredith. "D'you like Ron?" she asked.  
  
"Hermoine, please don't tell him! I mean.he's just so wonderful! I love being around him, he's so funny and easy to talk to. He'll probably never like me back, so please don't tell him!" Meredith looked at Hermione, her eyes pleading. Hermione smiled, but she couldn't understand how anybody could think of Ron like that. "I guess it's just the fact that he's been more like a brother to me than anything else," she thought to herself.  
  
"But Meredith, what if he likes you back?" she asked her. Meredith's whole face lit up, and she smiled from ear to ear.  
  
"Y-y-you mean it? He likes me back?" She asked. She could barely contain her excitement. "He really does?" Her smile spread even further, if it was possible.  
  
"Yes, Meredith, he really does!"  
  
  
  
"No, Thaddeus, you failed at killing those blasted Weasley twins. But, you caused damage, and Harry Potter is scared. I praise you for that, but for your mistake, you must pay dearly." Thaddeus suddenly felt like he was going to retch. The pain spread to his entire body, every bone felt like it was on fire.  
  
"N-no, please s-s-sir, I beg y-you," Thaddeus begged. Voldemort just laughed his high, cold, laugh. Thaddeus shuddered as he heard the familiar screeching sound, then screamed out as he felt even more pain.  
  
"Thaddeus?" A small voice sounded towards the doorway. Thaddeus had been alone in his dorm, and he wasn't expecting anybody else to come in at a time like this. Everybody was supposed to be at lunch.  
  
"Rangley! Please...you need to leave," he gasped. Rangley Lawten, Thaddeus' best friend, was staring at him with a look of confusion on his face. "Please..Rangley..I'm begging you! There's danger here!" Thaddeus stared at his best friend, hoping that Rangley would get what Thaddeus meant. His eyes pleaded with Rangley, then he cried out as he felt another blast of pain. Rangley's eyes grew huge as he watched Thaddeus fall to the floor in pain.  
  
"Thad? Maybe I should go get Madam Pomfrey-" His voice shook, as he was obviously scared.  
  
"NO! Don't.just.Rangley, warn Harry Potter! Something ba-" Thaddeus was cut off as he screamed out again. He slumped, and for a moment, Rangley thought he had died, but closer inspection showed that he had passed out.  
  
"Warn Harry? Why.I don't understand!" Rangley wondered outloud. He decided it best to do what Thaddeus said. But still.why?  
  
"You will pay dearly for that, boy!" Thaddeus had woken up, and he was sitting on his bed, rubbing his head. Rangley was gone. Thaddeus didn't remember a lot of what he had said to Rangley. Just for him to warn Harry Potter. "You almost let out your little secret boy! You'll pay, you just wait," the cold voice said. Thaddeus shivered.he hated that voice. It taunted him in his dreams, during his classes..everywhere he went, that voice. That voice would bring him his death, it seemed.  
  
  
  
Harry and Hermione were once again walking around the lake. The weather was turning colder as they neared the end of October, and Halloween. The wind was blowing ripples across the surface of the lake as they walked. Harry had a sad expression on his face. "Harry? Are you all right?" she asked him.  
  
"No.Hermione, there's something that you don't know," he said. He turned to look at her. His green eyes were filled with tears, and one was sliding down his cheek as he looked at her.  
  
"Harry! What's wrong? Please, tell me!" She exclaimed. Whatever was wrong with him, she knew that they would work it out. How many risks had they taken in the years they had come to this school? How many dangerous chances? How many times had they put their lives on the line?  
  
"Hermione," he said. His voice was barely above a whisper. He took her hands in his and looked into her eyes. She suddenly got a bad feeling in her stomach, like a pound of lead had dropped down into her insides. "Professor Dumbledore.well, he reckons that I'm going to have to fight Voldemort again," he said.  
  
"Well, you've already faced him four times, and you've always survived before, haven't you?" she asked. This didn't seem so huge, he's always lived through everything. He can't die.he's perfect. In her eyes, at least.  
  
"This time it's different, Hermione. He's stronger than ever.possibly stronger than back before he vanished. They don't think I'll come out on top this time."  
  
Hermione suddenly felt as though the lead in her stomach had fallen all the way down to her toes. "No.Harry, no, that's not right. They're lying to you, I know they are. You can't die, do you understand me? I.I love you to much for you to die!" She felt hot tears roll down her cheeks and drop off her chin onto the hard ground. "You.you just can't," she said.  
  
"I'm not going to, Hermione. I wouldn't leave you alone like that. They say that there's a slight chance that I'll survive. They're training me right now, throwing almost every single situation in my face and teaching me different spells and incantations that'll help me. There's a chance, all right, but not a big one," Harry said.  
  
Those last words he said echoed in Hermione's mind. "There's a chance, all right, but not a big one." Harry's solemn voice repeated those words again and again.  
  
"No. You'll survive. I know you will, Harry. You're a great wizard, Harry, and you can get through anything!" She almost didn't believe herself. Almost all of her brain was screaming out, "LIES! LIES!" But there was still that small part of her mind that still said, even though it was small, "No, Harry'll live. He's the boy who lived, and you never forget that."  
  
Hermione chose to believe the smaller part.  
  
1 Rest your eyes, there's nothing to fear  
  
The dangers gone  
  
Who couldn't say your wonderful  
  
Who couldn't love you  
  
I'll hold you gently  
  
Savor our moments together  
  
But who couldn't say your wonderful  
  
Who couldn't love you?  
  
Hermione was back. The song..it was different this time. The words were different at the end, and they were getting dimmer as she walked on. She looked at her surroundings. The whole forest seemed alive, and more real. It was strangely vivid for a dream. She walked along, and as she walked she felt twigs and sticks poke into the fleshy underside of her feet. It hurt. "Strange, your not supposed to feel in dreams!" she said to herself. She looked down, and noticed that she was in muggle clothes. Her jeans were torn and ripped at the seams, and she had a big slash across one thigh. She realized that she was bleeding.blood was soaking up the fabric of her jeans below the slash. She didn't feel any pain on her leg or anything.just her feet. She heard a stick crack, as though somebody stepped on it. She whirled around, her heart pounding.  
  
"Who's there?" she asked the darkness.  
  
"Hermione?"  
  
"Harry!" she recognized the all too familiar voice. She ran towards where the voice sounded from. She heard Harry running to, she could hear his heavy breathing. She saw his dim figure in the darkness. She ran even harder, because she wanted nothing more than to feel his arms wrap around her, to feel his lips on hers. She was getting closer.closer.  
  
"EXPANDIMENTIEM!" A deep voice roared somewhere to Hermione's left side. She reached out and brushed Harry's fingers, then once again, felt the falling sensation once more. She bolted up in her bed, sweat covering her body. She felt somebody touch her hand, and she screamed.  
  
"Shh! Hermione, it's me! You'll wake everybody else if you keep screaming like that!" Harry's soothing voice cut through the thick darkness. He climbed into the bed with her, pulling the red curtains shut so nobody else could hear them. He took out his wand and muttered, "Lumos." A prinpick of light shone on Harry's face. His brillant green eyes were shining with fear.  
  
"Did you have that dream too?"  
  
THE END! (well, you know what I mean) 


	6. The Second Attack

Hermione didn't know what to do anymore. She'd been having the dream more and more often, and each dream was more vivid, more real. She knew that Harry was having the same dream, even though he wouldn't have admitted it. She didn't have to ask him, though. She could tell by his eyes.  
  
But right now, Hermione didn't want to think about the dream. Meredith and she were the only two people in their dorm room, and she wanted to grasp the chance to talk to her. "So, Meredith! Any signals from Ron lately?" she asked. Meredith grinned from ear to ear.  
  
"Well.yesterday, after lunch, as we were leaving the Great Hall, we both reached for the door at the same time, and he didn't let go of my hand. It wasn't anything big, but HERMIONE we were holding hands!" she squealed. Her voice could barely contain her excitement. Hermione smiled at her. She loved Meredith's Canadian accent. It was so crisp and fresh, with bits of her French heritage showing through.  
  
"Meredith, why don't you just out and tell him that you like him?" she asked.  
  
"Well, I don't want to rush him or anything like that. And also, I'm not the kind of girl that makes the first move. I'm old fashioned when it comes to that!" Hermione grinned at her friend. Meredith looked the kind of girl that would make the first move, and the second, and the third.Meredith's brown hair was streaked with blue, red, purple, and pink, and she had a stud through her nose. But her appearance was nothing like her personality.  
  
"Well, I think that you-" Hermione started to say, but she was interrupted when Ron and Harry burst through the door.  
  
"You guys aren't supposed to be in here!" Meredith said. Hermione looked at Harry and Ron. They both looked red in the face, Ron more than usual, and they were panting as though they were running.  
  
"Harry? What happened?" she asked him.  
  
"They.they got Hagrid."  
  
Thaddeus was shaking. His whole body was shuddering every time he took a breath. He couldn't believe what he had just done. He had taken to holing up in a deserted bathroom. Yeah, sure, it was a girl's bathroom, but nobody was ever in there. The sinks were bashed up, and the stalls always overflowed. The only other person to ever go be in there was a ghost that just moped around and never talked, so what harm could she do?  
  
"Very good job, boy. We managed to kill that pathetic excuse of a being, Hagrid. I didn't think you capable of such a task, boy," Voldemort said. He laughed his chilling laugh. "Yes, yes, very good."  
  
Thaddeus was still in shock about the deed that he did. He hadn't wanted to hurt Hagrid, but he didn't have a choice. Voldemort had control over Thaddeus, so he could have made Thaddeus do what he did, even if he had resisted. H leaned back, still shaking, and reflected upon what he had just done.  
  
He had walked up to Hagrid's hut bordering the Forbidden Forest. "Hey, Thad! What can I do fer ya?" Hagrid asked him. He smiled down at Thaddeus, his beady eyes smiling at him too.  
  
"Hagrid, I'm r-really sorry." Thaddeus stuttered. He raised his wand and shouted "Expand-Expandimentiem!" Hagrid was throw backwards by the bolt of light that exploded from Thaddeus's wand. He hit the back wall of his cabin, making the whole structure shudder, then slumped down. Thaddeus wiped a tear from his eye and then ran back to the castle, before anybody could say that they had seen him at the crime scene.  
  
Hermione's heart beat fast as she raced down to Hagrid's cabin. Harry's palm was sweaty in her own, but she didn't care. She didn't care about the professors trying to slow them down as they flew through the hallways, because they didn't know what had happened, she took it. If they did, they would have understood. The four of them burst out the doors and ran across the grounds. They could see Hagrid's outline as they approached his house. Madam Pomfrey and Professor Dumbledore were bending over him.  
  
"What are you children doing here? Albus, this is no place for them!" Madam Pomfrey said as she saw them come up.  
  
Professor Dumbledore looked up to see who Madam Pomfrey was talking about. "It's all right, Poppy. I sent for them. They need to know." He turned to face them, his face grim. "The good news is, Hagrid is not dead. He is, however, in a very deep coma. We might not ever be able to get him out, but I am going to try my personal best to get him back. The thing that would help the most is for the person who did this to him be freed." He looked directly at Harry. Harry nodded, and Hermione understood. The person whom Voldemort had possessed had to be freed, and there would be a greater chance of Hagrid being awoken. She nodded, too, along with Harry. "Harry," Professor Dumbledore said, "this task falls directly on your shoulders."  
  
Dumbledore swished his cloak and turned away, starting back up towards the castle.  
  
"Professor!" Ron called after him. "What did this to Hagrid?"  
  
Dumbledore turned around sharply. "It was a very complex curse, only one that a very powerful wizard could do. Or, only one that a very powerful wizard living inside a younger wizard could be capable of. Anyway, it's called Expandimentiem." 


	7. The Secrets Revealed

Hermione, Harry, and Ron were walking on the grounds the day before Halloween. It had been a week after the attack on Hagrid, and they still hadn't fully recovered. Hermione still burst into tears when she walked past the hut that Hagrid had lived in ever since he had been expelled. She knew that he would be back, sooner or later.but still. There was that part in her mind that still said, "What if Harry doesn't live? What if Voldemort lives in that boy forever?" She knew that the last part was unlikely, but the first.there was still that chance. The three of them were walking, none of them saying anything at all, when they heard a cold drawling behind them.  
  
"Well, well, well. That pathetic half-giant finally got what was coming to him, didn't he?" Hermione turned around to see Malfoy, staring at them, with an evil grin on his face. His usual cronies, Crabbe and Goyle, where nowhere to be seen, so the three of them had an advantage, should they have to use it.  
  
"Don't even toy with use today, Malfoy." Hermione turned to look at Harry and saw that his green eyes were blazing. He was mad. "Of course he's mad, why shouldn't he be? This whole thing is because of him, it is kind of his fault." She mentally slapped herself. How could she think anything like that? It wasn't his fault. She turned her attention back to the dispute between Harry and Malfoy. Harry was clenching and unclenching his fists. Malfoy said something, his eyes gleaming, then suddenly, Harry lashed out.  
  
BAM! His fist connected with Malfoy's jaw. Malfoy stumbled back, and then rage took over his face. He hooked Harry in the stomach, and then turned to Ron. He got him in the eye before Ron kneed him in the gut, then hooked him in the chin. Malfoy fell over on the hard ground, starting to bruise early. "That should teach you to talk about my friends, Malfoy," Harry growled. His eyes glinted with anger. Hermione was taken aback.she had never seen Harry like that. The little boy she had loved was suddenly turning into an old man, bent and angry at the world. She felt her eyes fill with tears, then turned away and ran before Harry and Ron could ask what was wrong.  
  
Hermione ran all the way to Gryffindor tower, where she burst into her room sobbing. Meredith was there, sitting on her bed reading a textbook. She looked up and saw Hermione fling herself onto her bed and sob. "What's wrong, Hermione?" She asked. Her pretty green eyes were full of concern for her friend.  
  
"It's Harry.Meredith I'm just so scared! What if he doesn't survive? What if he's killed? I don't know what I would do without him in my life.to laugh at me, to hold me, to kiss me.to just everything. Meredith.I'm just so worried!" She gulped and sobbed once more.  
  
"It's gonna be okay, Hermione. I promise. He'll be okay.I know these things," she said soothingly. When she heard that Hermione was still crying, she  
  
started singing, her clear voice cutting through Hermione's thoughts. "Rest your eyes, there's nothing to fear, the dangers gone.Who couldn't say your wonderful, who couldn't love you?" Hermione knew that song, but from where? The words sounded so familiar. "I'll hold you gently, savor our moments together, But who couldn't say-" Hermione's mind clicked. The dream! Her dream, Harry's dream.but how could Meredith know about that dream too? She snapped her head up.  
  
"Meredith.where did you hear that song?"  
  
"Oh," she looked at Hermione, her eyes confused. "Ron sang it to me, last night. He said he heard it in a dream."  
  
  
  
Rangley Lawten had been searching for his best friend all day. He couldn't find him anywhere.and he had looked everywhere. He was walking across the grounds of Hogwarts and decided to check inside the gamekeeper's cabin. He was surprised to find Thaddeus curled up in the corner. He had on the same clothes he had had on yesterday, and he was dirty and shaking. He must be freezing! Rangley ran over to him. "Thad! What's wrong with you, man?" He didn't know what to think of his friend anymore. He had been acting strange ever since school started back. And Rangley had a growing suspicion that Thaddeus had had something to do with the attacks on the two Gryffindor beaters on the Quidditch team, and then the attack last week on Hagrid. But why would Thaddeus do anything like that? The Thaddeus that Rangley knew was so kind and caring. Nice to everybody, sure, a little rough at times, but he never tried to cause harm to anybody. But what was happening to him now? "Thaddeus!" Rangley reached out and shook his friends shoulder. Thaddeues' head lolled about on his neck, then he saw who had shaken him.  
  
"Rangley!" He gasped. He sounded as though he hadn't had anything to eat all day, or anything to eat the day before. Rangley realized that he hadn't.he must be starving! "Rangley, please. Leave me alone.it's what's best for you and for everybody," Thaddeus said. His eyes were so cold and alone.so unlike the rosy faced boy that Rangley had known for four years. "Please! I'm begging you!"  
  
"No! Thad, what are you doing here? Why are you in Hagrid's cabin? You should be in the castle, in the common room, hanging out with the rest of us? Man, what has happened to you? Why are you acting so different?" Rangley was getting fed up at Thaddeus. He wanted to know the truth behind things.  
  
"Rangley, I promise, if you don't leave, I'll perform Expandimentiem on you to, and I'll do it on my own free will!" Thaddeus said angrily. He seemed to have been caught up in the heat of the moment, because after he said that, his eyes grew wide in surprise. Rangley was shocked.  
  
"I knew it! I knew you had something to do with this whole thing! Why didn't you tell me, Thad?" Rangley was hurt that his best friend hadn't turned to him. He also couldn't believe that Thaddeus had done this to somebody so nice as Hagrid. What had Hagrid done to him? And what had Thaddeus meant when he said on his own free will? Rangley was agitated and upset, so he dropped all sympathy he had for his friend. "Fine, Thaddeus. I don't care, if you don't want to, then we don't have to be friends anymore!" He said hotly. He knew he was acting like a child, but for once, he didn't care. He had a reason to, or so he thought.  
  
A light shined in the forest, a million miles away from Hogwarts, across the world. A pair of bright blue eyes snapped open, and a flashing of pearly white teeth could be seen. "Don't worry, Harry. Help is on the way."  
  
  
  
THE END! (mystery and suspense.ooh!) 


	8. The Ex-Boyfriend

Hermione hated herself for being happy. How could she feel even the smallest bit glad when everything was so dangerous? She deserved a little fun, she tried to convince herself. After all, today was Halloween. She deserved to take time away from always being scared, from always being nervous about Harry. Yes, she would relax, but only for today.  
  
"Hey, Hermione!" She turned around to face Meredith. Her hair was dyed black with orange streaks. She had small pumpkin charms in her hair that winked and giggled at random. She smiled at one, and its eyes glowed and it winked at her.  
  
"Hey, Mere." Hermione knew that she could always count on Meredith to make her sprits lighter.  
  
"Excited about today?" she asked Hermione.  
  
"Oh yeah girl, you know it! I am a slight bit worried about Harry, though. I mean.this seems a likely day for You-Know-Who to attack again," she said. "I just don't know what to do!"  
  
"Don't worry about it, Hermione. Everything is going to be okay, as long as we all have each other."  
  
Hermione sighed as she flopped down on her bed. She was done with classes, and she still had about three hours before the feast. She heard the door open and she didn't bother turning around to see who it was. She felt the bed shift as somebody sat down beside her. They reached over and started massaging her shoulders.this couldn't be Meredith. She rolled over to find Harry smiling down at her. Her spirits instantly lifted. "Hey, Beautiful," he whispered.  
  
"Hey Harry," she whispered back. She reached up to push away some stray hair from his forehead. He took her hand away from his face and kissed it gently. She sat up, taking his face in both of her hands. He looked in her eyes, his brilliant green eyes filled with love for her. He leaned forward, his weight pushing her down into her blankets and pillows.  
  
"I love you, Hermoine," he whispered, before leaning down, bridging the gap between their lips. She felt the way that he needed her in the way that he kissed her. He was everything to her, and she knew that he felt the same. She let her mind wander as he broke their kiss and moved his lips to her neck.  
  
She remembered the day they had first met. She had hurried down to their compartment, claming to have been searching for Neville's lost toad. Of course, she hadn't really, she didn't care about that stupid toad. She had to make sure the rumors were true, that the one she loved ever since she picked up a book about him was on the same train as her.  
  
"Harry Potter." Those had been the first words he had spoken to her. They were burned into her memory ever since that day.  
  
Of course, they had become better friends later that year. She thought back to when they were in the chamber together, and she had to leave him behind. She wanted badly to tell him how she felt, but she thought that it wouldn't have made much sense, because he would have never felt the same way.  
  
But, lucky for her, he had.  
  
She snapped back into reality when she felt tears fall on her face. She looked up to see Harry staring at her, his glasses off and his green eyes shining with tears. She reached up and wiped away the tear trails left on his cheeks. She felt tears running down her cheeks too, but she didn't bother to wipe her own away.  
  
"Why are you crying, Harry?" she asked him softly.  
  
"I prayed for you, Hermione," he said weakly. "I prayed for you, when I was little, when I thought that I would never find somebody that loved me as much as my mom and dad did. I found her when I looked into your eyes. I found her the very first day I stepped onto the train. I found her in you, Hermione," he said softly. More tears spilled down his cheeks onto hers.  
  
"Oh, Harry," she said, pulling him close to her. He buried his neck in the crook of her shoulder. His shoulders shook every so often.  
  
"Hermione, they say I'm going to die. I don't want to die, Hermione! I- I.I love you to much!" he said against her skin.  
  
"Harry, you won't die! I promise!" She took his head in her hands and looked straight into his eyes. "I prayed for you too."  
  
Thaddeus was beginning to think that nothing was going to happen anymore. The voice had stopped talking to him since that day that Rangley had found him in Hagrid's cabin. No laughs, no waking up in the middle of the night screaming, no more pain that wouldn't go away. Maybe Voldemort had given up.  
  
Thaddeus, Rangley, and a few other of their friends were all heading down to the Great Hall for the Halloween feast. Rangley and his friend Todd were talking about their favorite Quidditch teams.Rangley favored the Sweetwater Allstars, an American team from Texas. Todd liked the Winborne Wasps, and the two were arguing over which was better. Thaddeus smiled, glad that things were finally getting back to normal. He heard footsteps behind them, and turned around to face four people, all of which looked older than him. The first one was Harry Potter, then next to him was a girl with brown hair that looked slightly familiar, and next to her was a wild looking girl with orange streaks in her hair, holding hands with a tall, freckled, redhead.  
  
His mind searched his memories for the face of the girl standing next to Harry. He had gone out with a girl about a year before he came to Hogwarts.but now. That couldn't be her, her parents had been dentists, not witches and wizards.  
  
"Hermoine, you know that." Thaddeus caught snippets of their conversation. Hermione? That had been his girlfriend's name. His mouth hung wide open.  
  
"Whaddya starin' at, little kid?" The four had come upon Thaddeus, and the one with orange streaks had spoken to him. Suddenly, Hermione's mouth dropped open.  
  
"THADDEUS?" She exclaimed. He nodded slowly. "Oh my goodness!" She ran towards him and flung her arms around his neck. "How've you been? Why didn't you tell me you came here? My gosh, If I would have known!" Thaddeus looked past her to see the three others standing like he had been moments before, all of them with their mouths open.  
  
"Hermione? Who is this?" Harry had come up and put an arm around Hermione's waist, like he was protecting her.  
  
Oh, God no, Thaddeus thought to himself. If Hermione was a good friend of Harry's, then she was surely in trouble. Suddenly, his insides squeezed with pain. He was back, Voldemort hadn't gone anywhere.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me you knew Harry's little lovergirl?" the voice said. Lovergirl? Hermione and Harry? Thaddeus couldn't believe it.  
  
"Thad?" He turned around to see Rangley and their friends standing behind him. He had completely forgotten about them!  
  
"You guys go on ahead, and save me a seat," he said, waving them off. Rangley looked suspicious, but turned away when Todd remarked that the Sweetwater Allstars were nothing but lowdown cheating filth.  
  
"Harry, this is my good friend, and, exboyfriend, Thaddeus Pearson," Hermione explained. Harry cast a doubtful look at Thaddeus.  
  
"Don't worry, Harry. It was a long time ago, back before either of us came here," Thaddeus assured him.  
  
"No.it's not that..it's just that..no, that's crazy," Harry said awkwardly.  
  
"Our little hero seems to be sensing something.interesting. Anyway, boy, abandon this feast. I have a slight change of plans now that something new has been revealed," Voldemoret said coldly.  
  
"No!" Thaddeus said outloud. The four of them looked at him strangely, and he searched his brain for an excuse. "Sorry, thinking to myself. I'd better go now, it was great seeing you Hermione!" He hurried off towards his common room.  
  
He had to stop Voldemort from hurting Hermoine. He would do anything. 


	9. The Twins

Jack Thompson wiped the dust off the cash register. He sighed as he looked out the window of the tiny store where he worked over the summer months. He lived in a small magic-only community, and it was very boring. It was another humid summer day, the heat drifting in through the open window, dusting the whole store with a blanket of damp heat.  
  
Jack snapped out of his thoughts when a girl snapped her fingers in front of his face. She looks just like me! He thought to himself. She had blonde hair, icy blue eyes, and a dimple right underneath the corner of mouth that showed up when she smiled.  
  
"Jack, how do you do?" she asked him.  
  
"How do you know my name?" was his reply.  
  
"I know everything about you, Jack Nicholas Thompson. Right down to the birthmark on your ankle," she said smoothly. She pulled down her socks to reveal a birthmark on her leg, shaped like a wave. Jack gasped. He had a birthmark like that too, shaped like a curled wave, only his was on the opposite leg.  
  
"How.how did you know about that?" Jack was starting to get scared. This girl.she looked just like him, and she knew everything about him. Was she stalking him?  
  
"Did your mother ever tell you why you don't have a father? Didn't you ever see letters in the mail from a Jocelyn Thompson? Didn't you ever see pictures of a redheaded man and a blonde girl?" She asked him. Her eyes searched his intently.  
  
"Yeah.yeah, I remember my mom not telling me why my dad doesn't live with us. And I remember the letters and pictures. But what does that have to do with anything?" Things were beginning to fall into place, but he didn't want to admit it.  
  
"Jack, we're twins," she said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "We're the offspring of two of the most powerful people in the magic world. And there's a boy named Harry Potter, (of course you know who that is) that needs our help. Get your wand, and let's go."  
  
  
  
"Thaddeus, you have proved to be very useful. I knew I had done well when I picked you. Now, tell me everything you know about this little girlfriend of Harry Potter's."  
  
Voldemort had taunted Thaddeus every chance he got. It was true, him and Hermione had had a relationship before she left for school. He always had felt very close to her. It totally changed everything know that he knew that she came here. And it scared him, because when he saw her that day, he knew that he still loved her. But, obviously, her heart belonged to Harry, and there was nothing he could do to change that. But he had to stop Voldemort from hurting her, he would do anything to keep her safe.  
  
"Hermione.if only you knew!" He said softly to himself.  
  
Voldemort laughed. "You love the girl that belongs to Harry, don't you, boy?" he asked Thaddeus.  
  
There wasn't any point in lying, Voldemort could sense Thaddeus's thoughts. He sighed before he let anything come out. "Yes, I do."  
  
He laughed again. "Good. This is getting interesting."  
  
"Please don't hurt her, please! I swear, I'll do anything else, but don't hurt Hermione!! My life will be worthless without her, now that I know that she's here!" Thaddeus said outloud.  
  
"What exactly would you do? Anything?" Thaddeus gulped. He hadn't really meant that, but he couldn't take it back now.  
  
"W-Well...not anything.." he stammered.  
  
"Why don't you wait and see what I have in mind, boy?" Voldemort said.  
  
"What exactly would that be?" Thaddeus asked.  
  
"Just wait, boy. You'll see in good time," he replied. Voldemort laughed, and Thaddeus shook. He didn't want to hurt anybody, but he still loved Hermoine, and he didn't want to lose her.  
  
He was torn, and it was killing him.  
  
Hermione's heart started beating faster. She was searching everywhere for Harry, and she couldn't find him. She had raced down the Potions corridor, down the Charms isle, and searched in empty classrooms. She was going to go to the Astronomy decks when she heard voices behind her. Did they just say Harry's name? She slowed down to catch snippets of their conversation.  
  
"Yeah, Kathi really likes Harry. She thinks he likes her too, ya know? He's a helper in her Transfiguration class, and she said yesterday that he was really flirting with her! I think she's got a definite chance with him," one of the voices said.  
  
"Seriously, Taylor?" replied the other voice.  
  
"Yeah, but I mean you know, he does have that dorky girlfriend. I'll admit, that Helen or whatever her name is, she is really good looking, but she's a total bookworm and Kathi is SO much more Harry's type!" Taylor said.  
  
Hermione couldn't take it anymore. She whirled around to face Taylor Chavez and Shavannah Carson, two fourth year Hufflepuffs. "First of all, Taylor, it's not HELEN, it's HERMIONE. I am NOT dorky, and my life does not revolve around books. You shouldn't make assumptions before you even know people! Oh yes, and if KATHI is so much more Harry's type, then why doesn't she have him already?!" She said hotly. Taylor and Shavannah looked greatly surprised. Hermione could tell that they weren't expecting her to turn around and tell them off. "Do we have an agreement, girls?" She asked them.  
  
"Yeah, sure, whatever, Hermione," Taylor said. Her cheeks flushed red as she turned around. "Lets so, Shavannah," she called back.  
  
"S-sorry, Hermione. I don't agree with everything that Taylor said, okay?" Shavannah said. She smiled at Hermoine, then turned around and ran off to catch up with Taylor.  
  
Hermione was pleased with herself. She smiled privately as she watched Taylor's back moving further and further away. But she couldn't ignore the nagging at the back of her mind. Did Harry really flirt with this Kathi girl? Maybe Hermione had some competition. No, she told herself. Harry loves me, he said so! But still, the little voice taunted her. "No!" she said outloud.  
  
But she had her doubts. 


	10. The Decision

Hermione flopped down into one of the cushioned arm chairs in the Gryffindor common room. She twirled a loose strand of hair that had fallen from her ponytail around her index finger. The words that she had heard Taylor say taunted her, swirling around in her mind, a bad memory that she wanted to forget. What if Harry really did like this Kathi girl? What would she do if she lost him? He meant everything to her...  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by the slamming of the portrait hole door. Meredith smiled at Hermione as she walked across the room. "Hey, Hermione!"  
  
She managed a weak smile back at Meredith. "Hey, Mere," she said.  
  
"What's wrong with you, girl?" Came her respose. Hermione spilled out the whole story to Meredith, and was please with the reaction. "YOU GO, GIRL! You really showed that Taylor girl that Harry is your man, and there is nothing that she can do about it!" She reached out and gave Hermione's shoulder a reassuring pat. "Harry loves you, Hermione, you're stupid for even doubting that. He's crazy about you, trust me. I have to listen to him go on about how perfect and wonderful you are."  
  
"Yeah, you're right. Thank you so much, Meredith! How are things with you and Ron?" Hermione felt better about the subject, and she felt stupid for ever doubting what she had.  
  
"We're great, I'm so lucky to have him! I just wish he was a crazy about me as Harry is about you, girl!" She said. She smiled at Hermione.  
  
Crazy about her...the thought whirled in Hermione's head, erasing everything that Taylor had said earlier. Of course, how could she be so stupid? I'm so lucky to have him in my life, he means so much to me, she thought to herself. Nothing can bring us apart, not even the danger that we're facing, not even the threat of being defeated. We can make it through anything, as long as we have each other.  
  
"Hello? Hermione? I have only been talking for the past million years, and you're just sitting there with that goofy expression on your face. You okay?" Meredith interrupted her thoughts once more. She snapped back to reality and smiled.  
  
"Yeah...I'm great. Listen, I have to go find Harry...thanks Mere!" She got out of her chair and climbed out of the portrait hole, setting off at a run to find Harry. She disregarded the teachers that she passed by, this was more important than any rule that they had. She ingored the comments that were made by fellow students as she flew past them. Her side was aching, but she didn't care, she sped down the hallways in search of Harry.  
  
When she rounded a corner, she ran into something solid. She inhaled, and the scent smelled like soap, the outdoors, oranges, cinnamon, gingerbread, and a million other wonderful things. She had found him. She threw her arms around his neck and buried her face into his shoulder, gasping for breath and with tears running down her cheeks, but not caring, because she had found him.  
  
"Harry!" She felt his arms go around her waist, and she felt complete, and didn't care who came along or what happened, nothing could hurt her. "Harry, I've been looking all over for you! I'm sorry I doubted everything, I'm sorry!!" He pulled her back and held her at arms length. His bright green eyes searched her face.  
  
"What happened? Is everything okay?" She could hear panic in his voice, but she just laughed and threw herself back into his arms.  
  
"Everything is wonderful, Harry. I love you," she whispered into his chest.  
  
  
  
Thaddeus stepped back. He had just witnessed the single most painful moment in his life. Hermione had come running down the hallway, red faced and out of breath. She ran into Harry, who had been walking a few feet in front of Thaddeus. He walked forward to hear their conversation. Hermione was crying, but she looked happy. She looked beautiful, even though her red cheeks were tear stained. He watched as she was back into Harry's arms, and wished that it was him holding her instead of Harry. Even though he was younger than the two, his 14 year old body had grown to one that could rival Harry's. He was tall for his age, but muscular, and his blue eyes were almost as peircing as Harry's vivid green ones.  
  
He listened to the conversation that was unfolding before his eyes. Hermione whispered something into Harry's chest, but he couldn't catch what. Then he realized what was said...she told him she loved him. The thought of her saying those words hit his heart like a thousand knives.  
  
"Little Thaddeus is hurting, is he?" The cold voice inside his head taunted him. Thaddeus couldn't take it anymore.  
  
"LEAVE ME ALONE!" He screamed. People turned and stared at him. He smiled sheepishly, then pulled aside Rachel Brandwater, and said loud enough for everybody around him to hear, "Please, Rachel! I don't want to go out with any of your friends!" He whispered to her that he would explain later, and asked her to play along. He thought it was a good coverup, and in the back of his mind he thought it might make Hermione jealous. He looked over to the side to see if she had looked up, but she was still in Harry's arms.  
  
"Poor little Thaddeus' heart is sinking, isn't it? The girl he loves loves his enemy," the voice said.  
  
He's not my enemy, Thaddeus thought to himself. He's the one person that has destroyed you, and if he can do it once, he can do it again!  
  
The voice inside his head laughed. Thaddeus shivered, he hated having to listen to that laugh. "Do you really think so? I have my ways of surprising people, boy, you should have learned that by now."  
  
Thaddeus tried his best to ignore the voice that was taunting him in his mind. He thought of other things, more important things. He kept replaying the scene he had witnessed over and over in his mind, but instead, he pictured himself instead of Harry. He decided that the only thing for him to do was confess to Hermione of how he felt. But could he handle the reaction? 


	11. The Confession

Jack sighed. He was tired, he was hungry, he was hot, and he was bored. He looked over at his newly discovered twin sister, Jocelyn, and whined. "Jocelyn…I wanna go HOME!" She just looked at him, her icy blue eyes peered into his.  
  
"The Jack Thompson that I knew when I was little wouldn't have given up so easily. Have you lost your edge already, Jack?" She looked at him, raised an eyebrow, and continued walking. The two were on a path to the nearest train station, which happened to be a mile and a half away. It wasn't that far, or so Jack had thought. His seemingly endless supply of energy propelled him 5 or so yards in front of his sister, until around noon.  
  
"No, I haven't lost my edge..it's just gone a little dull, that's it!" He retorted to his sister's advancing back. He stood up, sighed, and took off after her.  
  
"Now, Jack, if we're going to help out Harry, you have to keep up! I know I'm a weak, fragile, helpless girl, but seriously, you give the male gender a bad name!"  
  
Thaddeus shivered. He was lying in his bed, drenched with sweat, but shaking with cold. Had he just woken up from a bad dream? He felt no pain, and the voice inside his head was gone. He looked at his reflection in the mirror, and even though he looked tired, he looked healthy. He smiled, ran his fingers through his hair, and then ran downstairs to the common room. He was greeted by Rangley, who rushed up to him the moment he entered.  
  
"Thad! I thought you would never wake up!" Rangley exclaimed. Thaddeus was confused. Rangley looked at him as though he had been gone for a thousand years. "They found you out cold on the floor in the hallway, and they took you to Madame Pomfrey. She let you come back to your bed this morning, but we were all scared that you were in a coma or something!"  
  
Suddenly, Thaddeus remembered. It had been days before, maybe even a week or two, but he had come out of one of his classes reeling with pain. His stomach was churning, his head was pounding, and every step he took had felt like knives pushing into the bottom of his feet. He remembered the voice saying something, he couldn't remember what, and then hearing him laugh. He had hit the cold floor, his last conscious thought being, "I wonder what Hermione's doing. Maybe she's thinking of me."  
  
"Oh…I remember now," he said weakly. His voice came out soft and fail, as though it would break, along with the rest of him. He suddenly felt old and tired, and he almost collapsed. He came to the realization that the voice wasn't gone….it was taunting him in the back of his mind.  
  
"Thaddeus was out cold, his little pathetic friends were so scared…please. You think they're scared now, ha, they should just wait! Wait until we get their precious Professor McGonagall, then they'll be really scared!"  
  
Thaddeus couldn't believe what he was hearing. Professor McGonagall? No, she was such a sweet lady…sure, she was strict, but she didn't deserve to be hurt, like Hagrid. But if he refused Voldemort, what would happen to him? Surely something much worse.  
  
"I…I think I'm going to go lay down again, Rangley. I'll see you at dinner tonight, maybe." He made the walk back to his dormitory and sat on the edge of his bed. Finally, he asked out loud, "Why did you choose me? I'm not a bad wizard, I'm not going to turn to the dark side, so why me?"  
  
The voice laughed. "I chose you because you are liked. Popular. People don't question you, Thaddeus. You have proved to be useful, even though I've had to punish you for some of your stupid mistakes. But you have progressed…yes, you have turned out quite well."  
  
"You make me sound like a science experiment," he said sarcastically.  
  
"That's because you are, boy."  
  
Hermione was excited, and she felt as though she deserved it. She was in her dorm room with Meredith, and the two were chatting. Hermione hadn't had the dream in some time, and she had begun to forget its haunting song, and the strange reality that the dream might be coming true. It was about three weeks until Christmas, her favorite time of the year. She hadn't felt normal in the longest time, and she didn't regret feeling happy and excited.  
  
"I heard from somebody that they were going to have some kind of a dance, or party, for us, sometime close to Christmas!" Meredith exclaimed. "I heard about the ball that you guys had last year, but this will be the first dance that I've ever been able to go to!"  
  
Hermione was shocked. Meredith seemed like the kind of girl that had been to a million dances, parties, social events. She had that outgoing, bubbly personality that everybody loved, and she just stood out in a crowd wherever she went. "You've never been to a dance before?" she asked, dumbfounded.  
  
"Nope. When I was in Canada, I went to an all girls magic school called Grundlings. We had almost no social interaction whatsoever, and I barely even knew any guys. This is why I love Hogwarts so much, it's got all these guys!" She giggled, and turned to the mirror where she was busy experimenting with different charms on her hair.  
  
"Yeah, all those guys…," Hermione trailed off, and Meredith knew that her mind was only one guy. She smiled, amazed at how peaceful it was with him being around her. As her thoughts turned to all their adventures that they have had over the years, she looked up to see Harry standing in front of her, with Ron leading Meredith out of the room, both of them giggling.  
  
"Harry!! I didn't even see you come in, I was so lost in thought…" She smiled at him and patted the bed next to her. "Sit down, make yourself at home." He sat down next to her, his weight shifting the bed so that Hermione was sunk down in the middle. "Here, I have a better idea," she said. She got up, told him to lay down, and after drawing the curtains, she curled up in his arms, feeling warm, safe, and loved.  
  
Neither of them spoke, but they were both thinking the same thing. No matter what, nothing could take them from one another. They could conquer whatever came their way with their love, the one barricade that stood between the magical world and the destruction facing it. Harry took her hand in his and placed her palm on his heart. It was beating faster than normal, but in a good way.  
  
"Harry, your heart! It's beating so fast…why?"  
  
"I have one heart, and much love to give to one person, my heart can't contain it all, and this is it's way of letting it out."  
  
She looked up into his eyes, and smiled at him. She stroked his cheek with one hand, then lightly brushed her lips to his. She kept them there while she whispered, "I love you," making her lips move against his.  
  
He bridged the gap between them, and kissed her gently. His rhythm changed, decreasing, increasing, which made their kiss more passionate, intamite.  
  
When they broke apart his cheeks were flushed, and he was gasping for breath. She smiled at him and ran her fingers through his hair. "I like kissing you," she said softly. He laughed, and kissed her forehead. Everything is perfect, she thought to herself. At least for now.  
  
Thaddeus had to find Rangley. He had to tell him about what was inside his head, he had to tell somebody. He couldn't carry all the pain on his shoulders much more longer, he would collapse under the weight. He found Rangley walking along with Todd and Stephanie Prevett, a very pretty girl in their house. He pulled Rangley aside, and speaking in a hushed whisper, let everything out.  
  
"Promise me you won't tell! You are my best friend, Rangley, and I felt that you needed to know why I was acting so strange. Please, don't tell, because I will probably be dead as soon as anybody finds out. He has so much power over me, he controls almost every move. Rangley, I'm begging you, don't tell anybody! Swear to me, on everything that you know and care for." His eyes pleaded with Rangley's, and his voice shook with every word he spoke. Rangley sighed, and then reached out his hand in agreement.  
  
"I swear." 


End file.
